Toxic Love
by LanaaLuthor
Summary: Lora is hopelessly in love with Harry Osborn, yet he doesn't seem to notice her. Once everything changes, their love grows toxic. /follows canon and goes beyond/
1. Chapter 1

**Toxic Love**

**Description: **Lora is hopelessly in love with Harry Osborn, yet he doesn't seem to notice her. Once everything changes, their love grows toxic. /follows canon and goes beyond/

* * *

**Part 01**

_My name is Lora Andrews and I'm Mary Jane's best friend. We're both seniors, trying to make the best of the remaining time we have left in high school. _

I didn't really have anyone besides MJ. My parents had died in a car crash years ago and I'd lived at my aunt's ever since, looking forward to the moment I would be able to move out and start a new life in college.

In another life, a one in which my parents were still alive, I would probably hate MJ. She was always the one to stand out in the crowd. She was the one people - especially men - noticed first. Even Harry Osborn, the billionaire heir on which I'd been crashing for quite some time now, only had his eyes on MJ.

I couldn't really blame her. She was a wonderful person. She not only was the first in our class, but she was also pretty and nice. She could never walk by a person that needed help and that was the reason I treated her like a sister and could never be jealous of her. When my parents had died, she was the one person that had stuck with me through it all.

I wasn't trying to get to know Harry on my own. I knew better than that. If guy wanted a girl, he was chasing after her. If he didn't, her chasing after him only made the situation more helpless. You got ignored or even worse - you got to sleep with him and then suffer through him dumping you afterwards.

I didn't feel sorry for myself. Life was just it - it was suffering. Sometimes you got lucky, most of the time you didn't.

I shouldn't have any complexes. I was asked out on dates. I wasn't ugly, quite the opposite. My problem was not the lack of dates, it was that I refused them until the guys finally gave up and then I ran out of options. There was one guy I had been dating for some time, but I'd broken up with him, hadn't felt any real spark between us and the fact that he was handsome didn't help to keep the relationship on. I just couldn't date anyone at the moment. I was too into Harry and even though I knew it was helpless, I couldn't stop. Distance would help, I knew that. I would go the distance when I would finally go to college and it wouldn't be the same as Harry Osborn could afford to go anywhere he wanted, unlike me.

* * *

One day, close to the finals, we went on a school trip to see the largest and deadliest collection of spiders in Oscorp Industries, the company Harry's father owed. I was sure that one day his son would take the reins.

_I must be stupid, _I thought when I walked inside. I hated spiders. Actually, I was scared of them. Whenever I saw one, I screamed and ran. Only it was the very last trip with my class and I knew I would regret if I didn't go. I liked my class mates and I couldn't miss this last occasion to go somewhere with them. Soon, we would all go to different colleges and never see each other again.

Once I found myself inside the room full of terrariums and spiders inside, I decided to keep myself at the back and not look at them. Then I kind of regretted my cowardice, because I saw Harry coming over to MJ and saying something to her that must be funny since she laughed.

When she was left alone, there was another guy making his way to her. It was Peter Parker, Harry's best friend. I always felt sorry for Peter, because other guys - read: the school football team - were picking up on him, almost bullying him. There wasn't much I could do for him beside trying to defend him a couple of times just like MJ was doing. I could only feel sorry for him.

I saw him asking MJ for a picture he would take for the school paper, but I could sense that he was coming up with excuses. He loved photography and I was sure that there would actually be a picture, but he took one and didn't stop there. Soon, MJ had a whole session. I could see that Peter really liked her - well, who didn't? - but he didn't have a chance, at least not in high school as MJ actually had a boyfriend who was a quarterback. If she didn't, there would be plenty of handsome boys in line. How could she notice Peter this way? We were young. We were stupid. We wanted handsome and well-built men, not the smart and sweet with an actual brain.

I wondered if that was the case with me and Harry. Did I like him for his looks? It wasn't for the money, I was sure of that one. In fact, there were even more handsome boys in school than him, so maybe I truly just wanted him for… him. He wasn't stupid, quite the opposite. He was nice too. That much I knew since he was friends with Peter and always defended him when with him.

* * *

Ever since the school trip, something wacky started happening to Peter. He was always the smart one, the one no one noticed until somebody started picking up on him. He was clumsy too. Always spilling or dropping something in the school canteen. Now he somehow got stronger and I couldn't tell why that was exactly.

MJ's boyfriend started bullying him again in the school corridor and this time Peter, for a change, fought back. He was pretty good at it.

MJ finally got to us and she yelled to Harry, "Help him!"

I still couldn't understand why she was dating a guy who wasn't smarter than a carrot and was a bully. Maybe she was trying to do what was expected of her in high school? Maybe she just wanted to fit it, choosing to be popular rather than frown upon or worse - forgotten.

Now it seemed that her boyfriend finally crossed a line. She was furious with him.

"Which one?" Harry suddenly answered her previous question when seeing that Peter didn't really need his help. Peter was doing fine on his own.

In fact, Peter beat up MJ's boyfriend and then, suddenly afraid of what he had done - or what he could do? - he ran.

I frowned. If he could have protected himself like this before, why hadn't he?

* * *

I remembered that soon after that fight, Spiderman appeared in the city.

Only you all know his story.

This is mine.

* * *

"Harry Osborn asked me out," was the first thing MJ said to me once she saw me the last week of school.

"What?" I looked at her with shock in my eyes. "And… you said…?" I prompted, not really sure if I wanted to know. It kind of hurt me.

"Yes, of course, he's nice to the contrary to my previous boyfriend, so… we'll see," MJ just said and shrugged.

She didn't even know I liked Harry, so I couldn't be mad at her now. She was my best friend, the person I shared everything with, but I couldn't tell her this. It was too embarrassing. I felt pathetic most of the times, so I rather not talk about my feelings. I needed to get as far away as possible from here in order to forget. To find someone that would want me. I surely didn't want to show how upset I was now. I couldn't destroy years worth of friendship for some guy who might not even know my name.

* * *

Harry took MJ to a parade we had in the city. He wanted his father to meet her, what made me feel even worse. He obviously thought about her seriously, but did she?

"Hey, Lora," I heard Peter's voice from behind me.

I turned around and saw him with his camera. He must be taking pictures of the parade, I guessed.

"Oh, hey, Peter," I sent him a smile. I really liked him. Actually, it was such a pity that I didn't like him the way I liked Harry. But again, if only Peter didn't have a crash on MJ… Life was screwed up most of the times, I decided.

When Peter took more pictures I heard something incoherent coming from his mouth.

"What was that?" I made sure when looking at him.

"No… nothing," he stammered. "I just saw MJ on the balcony... through my camera… she's up there with Harry," he notified, trying to be cool about the whole thing.

I looked up and didn't even need a camera to notice the red dress MJ was wearing today. Yes, she was up there, probably with Harry as Peter had just said. Maybe it was good that I couldn't see much. I didn't want to see them happy together.

Suddenly, something appeared in the sky and it wasn't one of the huge floating balloons. It was moving way too fast and it was… laughing? I wondered, frowning. It threw something toward the balcony and I heard an explosion. I instinctively covered my head in sudden terror. MJ was there! Harry was there!

I turned around to Peter, but he… was just gone. Where did he go? To find a better angle for his pictures? Or maybe he was just scared and ran?

In that very moment Spiderman appeared and people started cheering for him. He saved my friend and Harry and then… he just flew away with MJ!

I suddenly wanted to laugh, because if someone out there could beat Harry when it came to her, it was Spiderman.

The man that interrupted the parade and caused all this trouble was… surfing in the sky. It was definitely a surfing board! I judged. It must be powered by something. It looked like we had a new villain in town. He got scared away by Spiderman, but I was sure we would see him again.

"What was that thing?" Harry was suddenly standing right next to me. He'd already met me, through MJ, of course. "Are you all right?" he looked at me closely.

"Yes…" I stammered while still in shock. "I think so." It was hard to actually try to act normal around him, but so far I was sure I was doing a pretty good job. "You?"

"Fine, but Spiderman took my girlfriend!" He laughed it off like it was some kind of a joke, but I just couldn't reciprocate. He called MJ his girlfriend. I didn't know MJ was serious about him too. "Hey, listen… I'm throwing a Thanksgiving party. Would you like to come? You're MJ's best friend and I'm sure she would want you there. You could be a good company for Peter too. What do you say?"

I could just stare at him, digesting this proposition. What did I have to lose anyway?

"I don't have any plans," I finally answered, not really keen on spending Thanksgiving with my aunt who, as always, asked dozens of guests in her age, that I didn't even know. Still, going to Harry's was a bad idea either, because I knew there would never be anything romantic between me and Peter. We could only be good friends.

Good friends could have fun together too, I decided.

We were a disastrous and miss-fitted square, but at least I had people in my life, so I said yes to Harry.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 02**

I decided to go to the Thanksgiving at Harry's. I had doubts, even after I'd said yes to him, but all in all, it could as well be the last time we were together like this.

I walked there with MJ and Harry was the one to open the door. I couldn't help it, my heart jumped at his sight. He was handsome as always, so devilishly handsome!

Then I saw his face. He was looking like he was seeing a wonder and it caused my heart to speed up in my chest, but only to be painfully crashed when I noticed that his eyes were set on MJ, not on me. Never on me. I knew I would regret coming here. I should stay away, finally leave the city, forget. Still, something just wouldn't let me like my roots were here. Like I belonged here

"MJ, come inside," Harry sent her a gorgeous smile. "Hey, Lora." He barely looked at me.

I could only be grateful that he didn't know about my infatuation, because then it would just be embarrassing.

"Hand me your coats," Harry offered and then informed, "Peter's still not here. I don't know what's happening to him those days. Hes's been acting really weird…"

When we finally stepped into the living room, I spotted an older man by the already set table.

"This is my father, Norman Osborn," Harry introduced him. "Dad, this is MJ, the one I've talked to you about and this is her friend, Lora."

There was something about Mr. Osborn that made me dislike him right the very second I met him. Also, he shot MJ such a look that I wanted to say something offensive to him. Of course, I couldn't, but thinking it in my head made it more bearable to stand him.

We were already sat by the table, only Peter missing. I could tell everyone was impatient with him being so late and his aunt May was just embarrassed and worried. Also, Harry seemed to give up when it came to bringing me and Peter together. He must thought the very first impression I had of him today wasn't good.

Finally, after a few more minutes, we heard some thump upstrais.

"Peter?!" aunt May yelled. "I thought he left," she said to us, looking quite puzzled.

"Maybe he fell asleep?" Harry suggested as he ran out of ideas.

"I just hope he's all right," aunt May said and tried to heave herself from her seat.

"I'll go check it up," Norman Osborn offered and stood up. "You sit. You've already cooked this wonderful dinner and you should be resting, May. It's only shame that Peter can't show himself on time to appreciate it."

I wasn't sure if Mr. Osborn tried to be nice or exactly the opposite. He just caused aunt May to be even more embarrassed by the whole situation.

He came back from upstairs pretty soon and just said, "No one's there. I guess we should start without Peter." He looked quite upset thought and I wondered why that was.

He started carving the turkey when the door finally burst open and Peter got inside.

"I'm so sorry, aunt May. Traffic," he explained in as few words as possible and after hanging up his coat, he took the last free seat by the table.

"Honey, you're bleeding," aunt May gasped and grabbed Peter's arm, taking a closer look at the cut on it.

"It's nothing," Peter said way too fast like for my taste and snatched the hand away from her. "A bike hit me, that's all. I'm fine, really."

"Do you want me to take a look at it?" aunt May still asked in worried voice.

I really admired her patience. If I was her, I would lose it already. She never seemed to be truly angry with Peter or scream at him. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Peter lost his uncle and he was going through difficult times. Maybe she tried to be understanding and not judge. I wondered how would it be for her to truly lose it and let herself be mad. Hell would probably be unleashed as it usually happened to calm people when they finally lost control.

To my astonishment, it happened to Mr. Osborn who suddenly raised himself up from his seat and walked out of the apartment. A moment before he had been talking to Harry and MJ.

"Dad?" Harry, quite shocked with this behavior, followed him to the hall. "What are you doing?" We could all hear him even though his voice was hushed.

"I'm leaving," Harry received a simple answer.

"But… What about MJ? I invited her over so you could meet her."

"Son, I'll tell you this only once. Girls like her, especially girls that are so pretty, all they want is your money, not you."

There was silence.

After a few seconds Harry came back inside and came to a sudden stop when he noticed the awkwardness by our table.

"Did you hear that?" He asked in sudden realization.

"Thanks for protecting me, Harry!" MJ snap at him and stood up. "Aunt May, thank you very much for this wonderful dinner, but I can't stay. I'm sorry." She walked to get her coat.

"MJ…" Harry started, but before he managed to say anything else, she slammed the door in his face.

I seemed not to have a choice but to follow her. I would feel even more uncomfortable in the remaining company anyway.

"Lora?" Harry turned to me.

What? Was he actually trying to stop me too? I didn't care about him at the moment, I only cared about my friend who was clearly hurting.

"Smooth, Harry, really," I just said to him in a sarcastic voice.

I'd never before seen him acting like a jerk, but today he did nothing else.

After this fiasco of a Thanksgiving Harry and MJ stopped seeing each other and thanks to that, I didn't have a chance to see him either. Maybe it would only do me good. Maybe I needed it in order to finally get over him.

* * *

Then something horrible happened.

Aunt May was attacked by the Green Goblin, but fortunately, she was all right.

She wasn't my family, but I really liked her and always thought of her fondly. When being all alone in this world, I worked hard to keep as many contacts with people as I could and I just had to visit this poor woman.

I didn't think I would bump into Harry when going there though. He was just leaving the room in a hurry.

"Harry," I said surprised and came to a sudden stop. He seemed bothered by something. "Are you ok? Something happened?" I made sure.

"Peter and MJ…" he started, but then his voice just trailed off. I didn't need any further information though.

Peter and MJ? That was actually good news! Did she finally realize that he liked her?

Suddenly I realized that Harry looked me at me differently.

"D'you want to get out of here?" he just asked and I was too stunned to say now.

"Just give me a second to check up on aunt May," I said to him.

* * *

Few hours later I was in a bar and Harry just kissed me.

I was in shock, but the amounts of alcohol we'd drunk by now dulled it.

We'd been talking a lot about many things, but mainly it was Harry telling me how hard it was for him to try to live up to his father's expectations. It turned out that the live of a billionaire wasn't as idle as I thought it was.

"You know what? Nothing matters anymore," he whispered when cupping my face and kissing me again.

I lost myself in his kissed and couldn't even think clearly. Couldn't think it was wrong. To me it only seemed right.

Because he was burning me. His lips were burning me and the fire was spreading down my body, between my legs, to my breasts. I wanted this and I wanted this man. It didn't matter to me at the moment that it could be a mistake. Maybe it was a mistake I needed to make. I wanted this and I would not stop him. This was my chance.

* * *

Since that night me and Harry were kind of dating. I still couldn't decide what it was between us exactly, but I gave it a chance. It was better to regret having done something than not done it.

Sometimes I saw in his eyes something disturbing, something else entirely, but I didn't want to see it, so I just ignored it and pretended that everything was fine.

Yet, it wasn't. I didn't know what Harry had actually seen the day in the hospital, but MJ and Peter weren't a couple. Maybe he'd just thought he'd seen something and jumped to conclusions? I didn't know.

Everything started falling apart when one day we came back from a party to Harry's mansion. I thought that maybe we could finally take our relationship to a next step when going to bed. Unfortunately, what we saw made us forget about sex completely.

It was Harry's father or maybe I should say the body of Harry's father.

Norman Osborn was dead and Spiderman was just placing his body on the ottoman.

I could feel Harry breaking down and then he let go off my hand to get to his father. He shook his body and asked him to wake up. He couldn't see through his panic what I saw. And I saw a dead man. There was nothing we could do for Mr. Osborn anymore. He was just gone. It was too late.

"He… he is… dead," Harry finally whispered in a strangled voice. "Spiderman killed my father!" he yelled and stood up, facing me.

I had no idea what to do, how to comfort him. There were still so many unspoken issues between us as a couple and now this happened. I could see Harry breaking down in front of me, his body shaking, his face contorted like he was stopping himself from crying.

"Harry…" I finally whispered his name and came closer to him, reaching my arms to him. I wanted to hug him, to make him feel better, but he pushed me away.

"Spiderman killed my father!" he repeated. "I will kill him for that!"

I could only pray he wasn't serious.

* * *

A few days later, Norman Osborn's funeral took place. His death was all over the papers along with the information that Spiderman saved the city and MJ from Green Goblin.

"Harry, I'm so sorry…" Peter got to us. "Remember that I'm your friend and I will always be here for you," he assured him.

"Spiderman will pay for what he did," Harry just said instead, not really looking at Peter and then he walked away.

"I really do hope that he's not serious. For his own sake," I said when standing next to Peter, watching Harry's retreating silhouette.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 03**

It had been a while since we'd all seen each other. The perfect opportunity presented itself when Peter's birthday came and we received an invitation to aunt May to celebrate.

I hadn't been seeing Harry much those days after the funeral and then, when I'd almost lost my hope, he'd called me to apologize. He'd said he needed to deal with his grief and taking over the company his father left him all by himself. He wasn't used to open to people. He was used to fending for himself. To my great relief, he asked for a second chance and here we were. Meeting on Peter's birthday.

I'd changed during this short period of time. It was all thanks to MJ who was into fashion now as she won the casting for a Broadway show. I was happy for her as it was her dream all along. She wanted to be an actress and now she had the chance.

As MJ was experimenting with clothes I was her model and thanks to her, I started dressing and doing my hair differently. I could say I blossomed and I just got all the reward I needed. When Harry saw me, the look on his face was priceless. There was desire there, possessiveness. This time he didn't see MJ, he saw _me_. I hadn't been unattractive before, but now I just started to emphasize my assets the right way. Maybe this time we would finally managed to actually reach a bed, I wondered.

Finally, the last one to come was of course, Peter, who was always late. This time it actually was to our advantage as it was supposed to be a surprise party. He was so happy to see us all there for him, I could tell.

"Wow," he said when it was my turn to wish him a happy birthday. "I wouldn't recognize you, Lora, you look fantastic!" he exclaimed and then gave me a hug.

"Thank you!" I smiled at him.

"Hey, she's my girlfriend!" Harry yelled to him, but he clearly was joking when faking all that jealousy. It made us laugh though.

It was a really good day not only for Peter. I didn't remember the last time I was so happy in their company.

"I wouldn't stand a chance," Peter answer his friend anyway. "She sees only you, bro!"

Suddenly, my smile was dimmed as I wondered if the body and clothes on it were all Harry really saw. Sometimes I had serious doubts when it came to our relationship, if it was even a relationship. Only I wouldn't have the answers to my questions if I didn't ask. Maybe tonight would finally be a time for a serious talk with Harry, I decided.

The main issue wasn't even _us_, it was the grudge Harry held against Spiderman. I heard him telling Peter that the vigilante still needed to pay for what he had done to Harry's father and it unsettled me.

Maybe the life I led now with Harry wasn't what I'd imagined in the past, but it was real. There was really no fairy tales. There was pain and lost and suffering and brief moments of true happiness. I lived for those moments.

* * *

"Do you think that he loves me?" I asked MJ when we were sitting in my apartment the day after. Peter's birthday had been a success, although Harry had bailed shortly after kissing me goodnight. I couldn't really hold it against him as he'd received a very important call from Oscorp Industries. They'd needed him at work. Still, I'd been disappointed with how out night out ended.

"Are you kidding me? You are all he sees!" MJ answered me.

"Well, sorry for mentioning it, but… sometimes I have the impression that he still likes… you," I finally uttered.

MJ only sighed in response. That was all the information I needed and it didn't make me feel any better, quite the opposite.

"I'm his ex and men, even though they would never admit it, are sentimental," she finally said.

_Yeah, right… _I really wanted to snort at her.

Still, MJ was seeing someone at the moment and the guy was an astronaut who'd just come back from a trip to the moon. He was no match for Harry in her eyes, I could tell. I was only sorry that it didn't work out between her and Peter.

* * *

Couple of days later I was participating in a special event for Oscorp Industries. Harry was sponsoring a scientist who claimed to invent free energy.

I remained skeptical about the whole thing, but Harry was really excited and I supported him. I also spotted Peter there as he was studying physics now and really liked the invention.

As it turned out, there was no such thing as clean energy. At least, it wouldn't be for a while. The project ended with an explosion that didn't only killed the scientist's beloved wife, but also electrocuted him. The whole building started to shake and people were running around in panic.

I froze, just trying to locate Harry. I couldn't lose him now. Nothing could happen to him.

Where was he?

Peter was gone. He wasn't standing where I'd last seen him and I could only hope that he'd gotten out of here in time.

"Turn it off!" Harry, whom I finally found, yelled to the scientist who - surprisingly - was still alive, but completely stunned.

"Harry!" I was the one to scream this time. So far, the machine only started attracting everything that was made out of metal and now a metal piece of furniture was on its way to crash into my boyfriend.

Thankfully, Spiderman appeared and saved Harry's life.

"It doesn't change anything," I heard Harry telling him before he disappeared. Then his eyes found mine. "Lora, you need to get out of here! It's not safe!" he raised his voice, worry evident in it.

I didn't run to the exit. Instead, I made my way to him and thrust myself into his arms.

"I'm so happy that you're alright," I said straight to his ear.

There was something wrong with him and my stomach tightened unpleasantly at the feeling. Harry was just standing stiff, not bothering to put his arms around me, so I let go off him.

"Harry?" I tried, looking into his eyes. Maybe he was still in shock.

He practically pushed me even further away.

"I'm ruined!" he just yelled and put his hands to his head. "And Spiderman is still out there!"

"Spiderman just saved your fucking life!" I lost my patience with Harry. I was so angry at him that I was close to telling him that whatever there was between us was over. I would refuse to be treated this way.

I didn't manage to do that, because he was already gone.

Only I was certainly done being just some good-looking fit to Mr. Osborn's side. I wasn't a trash. I was a living and breathing human being. Harry would get what he had coming.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 04**

The truth was awful, I realized. I'd been avoiding Harry ever since the incident because I just couldn't bring myself to go to him and break up. I was so in love with him. They said that the first love was always the one you remembered, but in most cases, it didn't last. Why would I have to be any difference?

All I knew right now was that Harry didn't deserve me. That he took me for granted and never truly appreciated me. He hadn't even slept with me, so maybe I was just a convenient girlfriend for him, a date for parties, a woman to show up publicity with. I started wondering if he had any kind of a sexual life, and if he did the job himself whether he was imagining MJ, not me. Never me.

I needed to stop thinking like this. It was only bringing me pain and then only more pain. And I was the one inflicting this on myself. Why did I have to be so stupid? They said love was crazy and stupid, so maybe that was the case. I couldn't bring myself to break up, because I needed Harry like I needed oxygen. It was fucked up, but it was the truth. I needed to see him. I missed him.

His servant let me in with no questions and told me that Harry was upstairs. Only when I opened the door and walked in, I saw him with doc Ock! The newest villain in town, who was actually the scientist that got electrocuted before and turned evil.

"Bring me Spiderman and I will give you the tryd," Harry was just saying. The tryd was the element required to this experiment dock Ock had failed.

I could just stand there in the door, watch the scene, too stunned to actually speak.

"How will I find him?" he asked Harry.

"Peter Parker," Harry answered, "he's taking his pictures."

"Fine."

"Wait! Don't hurt Peter!" Harry called after him. I didn't know if I should be actually happy that my boyfriend didn't turn all bad himself. At least he cared about his friend enough to not want to see him hurt. Still, he was planning on killing Spiderman.

Doc Ock was gone by now and Harry was just about to drink the whiskey from the glass he was holding when he finally noticed me in the door. He stopped the glass half-way to his mouth and put it back on the table.

"Lora," he said my name in surprise.

"You want… you still want your revenge on Spiderman? I thought you weren't serious!" I said in accusation.

"As you can see… I was dead serious," he just said in a hard voice, finally drinking the liquid from the glass.

"He's protecting the city," I tried again.

"He killed my father!"

"You don't know what happened! You weren't there!"

"So, what? You expect me to talk to Spiderman? And I shall expect that he'll tell me the truth?" Harry snorted as he faced me again.

"What about Peter?" I asked.

"He'll be fine."

I didn't know what else to say. I didn't know how to help him. I cared about him and his pain hurt me.

Suddenly, Harry looked at me differently, like he was hungry and then I realized that my clothes were very sexy that particular day.

He got to me and took me into his arms, then kissed me hard, pushing his tongue into my mouth so I opened it, already lost completely. I didn't care about Spiderman or anything else at the moment. Harry made it all disappear. My whole body was burning from his touch. His hands were slipping down my back and he finally grabbed my ass, raising me up and caring to his bedroom. He was kissing my face, my neck and then he started ripping the clothes off me and kissing my stomach. He moved higher and his hand finally fondled my breasts, my nipples were asking for his touch and his mouth, so he licked them and then sucked on them. I could only squirm underneath his body and moan in pleasure. I finally managed to take his shirt off and moved my hands down his beautifully muscular chest, then unzipped his flies and pushed the pants down along with his boxers. He quickly shed them and covered my body with his again. I finally got a glimpse at his naked body and I wanted to moan again. He was big and so beautiful while naked. I didn't wait. I took him in my hand and stroked gently, earning a few deep groans from him and he pushed into my hand.

"You're driving me crazy," he whispered huskily when bringing his lips to my neck and sucking on my pulse.

"Good to hear," I said, relieved that I could actually arouse him sexually.

His hand found itself between my legs and he stroked me, earning another moan from me. I was lost.

"Harry… I need you right fucking _now_!"

"Wait for it, baby," he teased me, kissing me down there, flicking his tongue in and out, driving me crazy and finally pushing his two fingers into me. I was on the very verge of coming, couldn't stand it anymore. It was Harry. It was happening. That was all I could think of, everything else just went away. Only I really wanted to come with him inside.

I grabbed his cock and stroked it again.

"Ok, ok…" Harry moaned and with one thrust he found himself inside of me.

"Oh, yes!" I screamed and felt my orgasm surging. I came hard just from this as he'd worked on me so hard a moment ago. "More!" I demanded, coming down from this one with his cock inside. I could tell he was fighting himself, both exhilarated that he could make me come like this and scared he would not stand a chance to hold it before he would do it again.

He paused for a moment, eyes closed, chest glistering from sweat, body shaking a little. Then he finally pulled himself under control and started moving slowly, in and out, but then his moves became faster and jerker as he fucked me.

"Say my name…" he asked.

"Harry! Oh, Harry!" I moaned as he pumped into me, making me see the stars, pleasuring me with every agonizing stroke inside and then my vision went white as I started coming again and this time he followed me.

"That was… amazing…" he panted, sliding out of me and laying down right beside me. "We have to repeat it."

"Oh, yes, we have to," I agreed eagerly, but I couldn't really move. I could just lie there and slowly drift away…

* * *

I had doubts again when I came back home the next morning. The ecstasy ended for the time being as we were both exhausted and I was able to think clearly without all the sexual tension. I'd wanted to be intimate with Harry for so long, but once it happened, I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do after all. Maybe I really should've broken up with him instead of sleeping with him, I wondered. He could've always fought for me and that would've been a reason to trust him again and take him back. Now I would never know. But did I truly wanted to know?

To be honest, I'd never thought it would be like this once we'd finally gotten together.

I knew I had two options: break up or try to stay with him and try to make him love me, but there was also the third option: be his whore.

_Face it Lora_, I told myself, _the second option sucks!_ You either love someone or you don't!

I needed to talk to Harry first, so I went back to his apartment the following afternoon.

Once again, I walked on something very disturbing.

Spiderman was lying tied up on the couch while Harry was standing over him with a dagger in his hand.

My eyes opened widely in deep shock. I just couldn't believe this was the same man who'd made love to me. Now he seemed to be nothing more than a cold-blooded killer.

I wanted to scream to him not to do it, but before I managed to open my mouth, Harry took the Spiderman's mask off, revealing… Peter Parker. He was so surprised that he dropped the dagger and made a few steps backwards, almost colliding with his desk.

Peter easily freed himself and said, "Harry, whatever there is between us that have to be solved... it can wait. He has MJ! He's going to blow up the whole city! You have to let me go!"

"Peter… you killed my father," Harry whispered, still in a deep shock.

Peter just sent him a sad look and jumped through the window.

"Harry?" I whispered to my lover, then I came closer and put my arms around him from the back. He still didn't move.

"Get out and don't you dare say anything to anybody," he suddenly spoke in a hard, rid of any emotions voice.

"But…" I started, surprised by that cold welcome. Last night… _No,_ I said to myself and shook my head. Screw Harry fucking Osbore! No one would ever treat me this way again! I thought and was about to leave when Harry suddenly added in a much softer voice and a slightly guilty way like he was ashamed for being so harsh toward me. "Please, I just have to be alone right now."

"Promise me you won't hurt Peter," I asked.

"Do you really think that I could?" I knew he couldn't so I finally left.

Peter was Spiderman.

Everything was so clear right now! His mysterious disappearances. Him being notoriously late. Then, there was MJ. They weren't together because they didn't have feelings for each other! On the contrary, they loved each other, but Peter clearly didn't want her to be in any danger. After all, she'd been abducted by the Green Goblin before!

_'First they strike those you love the most'_ I remembered the quote.

* * *

The next day we all went to MJ's wedding. She was marrying that astronaut she'd been dating.

I went there with Harry for the appearances' sake, but we didn't speak much, especially about the events from the previous day.

Spiderman, of course, had saved the city again and again – he'd saved MJ.

And now MJ didn't show up. She ran away.

Yes, love won. She chose Peter despite all the danger, I was sure of it.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **As I rewrite bits and pieces and correct this fic, it really strikes me that Harry doesn't deserve Lora to still be with him. I wrote this a few years back and I had a different view on the world than I do have now. I apologize for Lora's character to be so weak. I do my best to write her differently, but it's just impossible every single time. Let's just say… she's young and she's in love. People do crazy and stupid things.

* * *

**Part 05**

It came as a surprise that Harry didn't want to see me tonight as we'd spent every single night this week together. I was a distraction to him and thanks to me, he hadn't been thinking so much about his revenge on Spiderman AKA Peter. Spending time with him in bed gave me pleasure, but I felt like we still needed to have a serious talk. Better after his issues with Peter would be solved, I decided.

I didn't really buy that Harry needed to be alone tonight. I knew exactly what he was going to do and I just needed to check it to prove myself right. He was going to see MJ on Broadway and he was going to do it alone, without me by his side. With me he would have to control himself. Quite frankly, as much as I cared about him, I was tired of being his doormat and I had a decision to make. I would not be humiliated anymore. If I caught him staring at MJ at the show, I would have to break up with him and then have a serious talk with Peter about his safety and Harry' instability.

I went to see my friend tonight as well and was struck by the image of Harry watching her from his private box with admiration on his face. I also spotted Peter in the third row and then looked back at Harry to see how his face changed. Now I saw pure hate on it.

I couldn't stand it all for long so I left. Harry was still in love with MJ and it hurt. Also, I needed to have some self-respect and manage to let him go before he would destroy me completely.

* * *

Peter was faster than me talking to Harry and the next day I received a phone call. His voice sounded pretty scared.

"Lora?" he asked.

"Peter? What happened?"

"It's Harry… Do you remember The Green Goblin?"

"Yes, but what does it have to do with…?" I started and then Peter interrupted me quickly, following with an explanation.

"The Goblin was his father and now Harry is the new Goblin in town!"

That came as news for me. Actually, it explained everything as Harry's father had been killed the night the Green Goblin had been defeated by Spiderman!

"I don't know how Harry did it," Peter continued, "but it's bad, Lora. He's attacked me and I was just defending myself. He got hit in the head and now he's in hospital."

All he resentment I currently felt toward Harry flew away, replaced by sudden fear for his well-being. You just couldn't help who you fell in love with, no matter how that person did not deserve it.

* * *

Peter was waiting for me in the hospital hall.

"What's with Harry?" I asked him quickly, making my way to him.

"He's gonna be ok," the answer, to my relief, came.

MJ appeared and I felt a heavy sick feeling in my guts on seeing her and remembering what I'd witnessed the night before. Only I couldn't really blame her. It wasn't her fault. She didn't even know about Harry's obsession with her and she was happy with Peter.

"What's with Harry?" she asked, worried as well.

Doctor appeared before Peter managed to answer.

"He's fine, but I have to warn you. He may not remember what happened just before his accident or even something further behind. The memory can come back or not." He let us inside Harry's room.

He was lying in bed with a band aid around his head. My heart ached for the sight of him like this, but I needed to remember why we couldn't really work.

"Hey! Familiar faces!" He smiled broadly at us all what struck us as odd. "Hey, bro!" He looked at Peter.

Harry from before the accident would've never reacted like that.

"Wait… my father… he's dead, right? It's so weird…" he suddenly said.

"Yes," Peter admitted. "I'm sorry…"

There was confusion everywhere, but luckily for Harry, he hadn't noticed yet.

"Oh! The light of my eyes!" Suddenly, his eyes rested on me and I could only look at him in shock. "This is the love of my life!" he exclaimed when reaching his hand to me.

I walked toward him like in a trans and held it.

"Honey, what would I do without you?" he asked.

It was stronger than me this time. This Harry wanted me. This Harry _loved _me, I realized. Was it inside of him all along? A person could forget something, but the feelings wouldn't change along with the memory lost, would they?

I couldn't help it and I kissed him, feeling him kissing back with such a fervor and fire that my head started spinning.

"Ok, that's enough for today." The nurse just came in. "He needs rest. You can all come back later."

"It's strange, you know. One bump in the head and all my problems are gone!" Harry sent us one last smile.

Peter laughed with perplexity and then we finally left.

"You have wonderful friends," I could hear the nurse telling Harry.

"The best," he answered. "I would give my life for them."

"Lora, can I talk to you for a second in private?" Peter asked me, pulling me aside.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can you not tell him the truth? I think it would be better for him."

"Yes," I agreed. It wasn't actually selfish. It wasn't about my feelings this time. It was about Harry. His obsession with his father's murder was killing him and it was best for him not to remember it. I couldn't let that one thing define his whole life and leave him with nothing but regret.

* * *

"Does this mean I'm rich?" Harry asked when we walked inside his house.

"Yes," I laughed, so happy to see him with no burden anymore.

"Is that why you're with me?" he suddenly asked looking closely for my reaction.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"Because I'm rich," he added. "Sorry, I think I'm too straight-forward…" he hesitated.

"No, it's fine. And no, it's not about you being rich. I just love you," I confessed, realizing it might be the very first time I said those words to him.

He just smiled to me with an equal affection and then came closer. He started kissing me and again, those were different kisses, softer ones.

"For what?" he asked when moving back, leaving me breathless.

"For everything and for nothing," I answered, shrugging. "I just do. For good and bad." It was the truth. Otherwise I would've left a long time ago, wouldn't I?

He me deeply in the eyes.

"What?" I asked, trying to decipher his thoughts.

"I'm one happy guy," he said. "Can I ask you something personal?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we having sex already?"

"Yes," I laughed. "So we don't have problems in that area."

He grinned at .me

"So… I suggest… the bedroom…" We raced each other there.

This time I was sure he wasn't the same Harry I knew and it worried me once again. He was tender. He was caressing my body, rather than taking urgently. He kissed it slowly and it wasn't about sex anymore. He was making love.

He entered me slowly while still kissing me. His moves were also slower, but so… fantastic. Those were deep, fulfilling strokes.

* * *

Everything was perfect until MJ was fired. I was comforting her as much as I could, but I couldn't give her back her career.

I could be only glad that Harry didn't look at her like he'd used to before the accident. Now she was just a friend.

Something bad started happening to Peter though. He was acting like he got high on fame. People loved Spiderman and he loved that feeling of adoration. It took a toll on MJ that was struggling with losing what she had. Soon, no one on Broadway would remember her name.

After a few days I realized that my life truly wasn't as bright as I'd thought. I loved Harry and he clearly loved me back, but seemed to be a completely different person. I was afraid I didn't like this person as much as before. It wasn't the Harry I'd fallen for.

I decided to go see him and talk about it all seriously when I passed MJ in his corridor. She was crying.

"I'm sorry," she just whispered to me while taking the elevator down.

She didn't even have to explain. I understood in an instant. The old Harry started coming back. Maybe he'd kissed her. Maybe he'd made a move on her. And then appeared, chasing after her and calling her name.

He came to a sudden stop when he spotted me. Fear ran through his face. I could tell he was feeling guilty for something he'd just done.

"You know what? I've had enough!" I burst at him in probably the least wanted moment.

"Lora, it was a mistake. I love you… please… just…" he reached his hands to me.

"No!" I interrupted him when making a step back. "You never really loved me! I tried, I really tried, but all you saw was her! Before the accident I was going to break up with you! I was always just the consolation prize! You treated me like a whore!" I let it all out, not caring about the consequences. I watched his face changing like a recognition passed through it.

"Oh, great! Remind yourself! Come on! What are you waiting for?!" I attacked him.

"My father…" he started when putting his hands to his head and wincing in pain.

"Oh! He did remind himself! I'm through with this, you can't treat me like your whore anymore!"

"Peter!" Harry screamed.

What had I done?

"He killed my father!... Spiderman… Why did you lie to me?!" he roared at me.

I moved back, my face already covered in tears. He'd never scared me, until now.

I found myself running away from him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 06**

The state I was in I couldn't describe by any other word but depression. I'd been lying in bed for a couple of days now, moving only when I had to go eat something, drink or use the bathroom. Still, everything I took into my mouth had no taste and the urgent, throbbing pain in my chest that wasn't physical but a broken heart, was driving me crazy. Life lost all the sense and I didn't really know what to do or how to pick myself up. How to keep going.

Eventually, somebody came and kept knocking on my door, refusing to leave. Well, I refused to get out of bed.

"Go away!" I yelled when covering my head with a blanket.

"Lora, it's me, Peter! I really need to talk to you!"

Peter, he was always honest and sweet – except his last fame rush, I thought.

I decided to get up after all and I opened the door for him. It was either this or him breaking into my apartment, I was sure of it.

"It's about Harry," he said once he saw me and I tried to shut the door into his face. Unfortunately, he was too strong and finally managed to get inside. "You look awful," he noticed.

"Well, thanks," I answered sarcastically and left him beside the door.

"We've had a fight," Peter continued, following me back to my bedroom where I returned to my previous position. "I hurt my best friend, I hurt MJ, I…"

"Hey… don't worry about MJ. I'm sure she'll forgive you," I interrupted him.

"I'm more worried about Harry."

"He'll cope… I wish I could hate him," I added after a moment, because the ugly truth was that I couldn't. I loved him and the person I hated for it was myself.

"Lora, it's really bad… Could you check up on him?" Peter wasn't giving up.

"No! You can't ask me that!" I sat on the bed and looked at him hard.

"Please."

I sighed heavily in response. I couldn't say no. Peter was realy disturbed and I was sure he wouldn't come asking me this if the situation wasn't serious.

"You owe me," I just said and disappeared in the bathroom. I needed to clean myself up, because Peter was right, I was truly a mess.

I hated myself even more when I realized that my heart was waiting in anticipation to see Harry. Didn't it get fucking hurt enough? I thought, angry with myself.

I took a shower, washed my hair, shaved my legs, put some decent clothes on and was ready to leave the house.

* * *

The door was opened by Harry's servant. His face was worried just like Peter's and I suddenly felt fear. What had happened to Harry?

"Is it bad?" I asked.

"He's upstairs in his room," I heard instead of receiving a proper answer.

I slowly made my way upstairs, feeling an unpleasant knot tightening in my stomach. Something truly horrible had happened, I could feel it.

I stod by the door that led to Harry's room and knocked. There was no answer so I had no other choice but to walk inside.

I saw Harry sitting on his bed with his back turned on me.

"Harry?" I asked, unsure of what to say or do. I slowly made my way to him. "Harry?" I repeated. He still refused to acknowledge my presence. "What's happening? I'm only here because Peter asked me to," I added to make it clear. I didn't want him to think I was so pathetic that I came back to him because I couldn't live without him.

"I'm sorry for everything," he suddenly said, surprising me with the honesty in his voice. It brought unwanted tears to my eyes.

"What happened? Is everything all right?" I repeated, now terrified.

I came closer again, I needed to see his face.

I was taken aback completely as he raised his eyes to meet mine. The sight of him stroke me. Half of his face was burned. Half of his beautiful face was wrinkled, deformed. One of his eyes changed color and I could only assumed it was dead.

"What happened?" I asked in a shaky voice and finally let the tears flow.

"Peter. Accident. Goblin's bomb… one of my father's…" Harry explained in a jaded voice.

I wiped the tears from my face and I found myself crouching by him and looking up into his eyes.

"It's ok, I'm here, I don't care… I don't care about your face… I hate myself for loving you, I can't… I can't stop… God, help me stop!" I sobbed.

The pained look in Harry's eyes undid me completely. I could see that he regretted hurting me. That he regretted ever using me.

"Are you really not repulsed by this?" he asked, turning his head aside so I only saw the deformed part of his face.

"No," I answered, shaking my head and then cupping his face and kissing the injured side.

Once he actually moved and captured my lips with his own, I was lost again. I couldn't pull away. I was too weak. He had total and complete power over me. I didn't care that I would hate myself even more later. I needed this now. All that mattered was this moment. The goodbye sex.

We undressed and got to bed. Harry was kissing me, his hands were wandering all over my body, stroking and caressing until he finally slid inside me, filling me in. I was whole again. All I needed was his hot body next to mine, him moving inside.

Despite the fact that the old Harry was back, something was still changed. He was more tender than the Harry I'd known, but not so much to say that he wasn't himself. That was why this time as so fantastic.

Only it stopped being this way once I actually came and felt sick. What I had done only hurt me more. I couldn't stay in this bed any second longer. I couldn't keep seeing Harry's face lost in ecstasy in my memories. I needed to get away. I needed to pull myself together, to stand on my feet, to forget.

"Lora," Harry tried to stop me when I got up and put my clothes back on.

"I don't know what is this thing between us," I said bitterly, avoiding looking at him. "But I'm sick of it. You can't just treat me like trash and then expect that I…" my voice broke. "Take care of your life, Harry, because I think it's an ever bigger mess than my own," after having said that, I left.

When I was coming back to my apartment, I met MJ.

"Hey, do you want to grab a cup of coffee and talk?" she asked, looking at me worryingly. "I know what happened. I'm so sorry, Lora. I want to be there for you."

"Thanks," I managed to send her a very fake smile and we called a taxi to take us to the city.

Only when we found ourselves inside, the driver turned out to be the Symbiont, one of Spiderman's current enemies. He and his new buddy – Sandman - captured us and put in this taxi on enormously big net… dozen of meters above the ground. The net was stacked between two of the highest buildings in town and it might break any second.

They wanted Spiderman to come save us, but it was an obvious trap and somehow, I started to wonder if I got out of there alive.

* * *

_Harry_

_I turned the TV on, because I needed to stop thinking about Lora just for a minute. I saw the news that Sandman and Symbiot had kidnapped somebody._

_"We've just received the information about two hostages in the car," the speaker was saying, "for now we've managed to indentify one of them. It's Mary Jane Watson, the ex Broadway star…"_

_I almost dropped the glass full of whiskey I was holding in my hand._

_"Harry." Peter just jumped into my room through the open window._

_"What else do you want?" I growled at him._

_"Let's forget about us for a moment, it's MJ, Harry! We have to save her! I can't do it alone! You have to help me! Please!"_

_"Get out!" I yelled at him and threw the glass of whiskey at my father's portrait that was hanging on the wall. The glass shattered and the liquid stained the picture. Peter was gone. _

_"Mr. Osborn, if I may…" I heard my servant's voice coming from the door. "I have seen a lot of strange things in this house. I know a lot of your father's secrets… dark secrets. The night Spiderman brought his body, I cleaned up his wounds and… they came from his own weapon, from his flying board. He was killed by his own hand," he informed._

_I shivered at the memory of the spikes attacked to the Goblin board._

_"And if I may again…" he continued. "Maybe you don't really have any feelings for miss Watson. Maybe you think you have them, because she's out of your reach? You cannot have her, so that is why you want her so much. Maybe you've already in love with someone else. Someone who's been there for you all this time."_

_"Lora…" I whispered at the realization, loving the sound of her name in my mouth._

_The warm and heat I always felt when she was around. Those sparks, passion and desire. I wanted to take care of her and instead, I just kept hurting her. I was hurt when I hurt her, I finally realized._

_"…we've managed to indentify the other hostage…" the speaker continued on the news. "It's Lora Anderson, Mary Jane Watson's friend."_

_The blood inside of me boiled. I couldn't let anyone hurt my Lora. She loved me and I obviously loved her. She was my life and I couldn't live without her._


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 07**

I was hanging so high above the ground that it was making me sick.

"It'll be ok," MJ tried to calm me and herself down. "Peter will save us."

Only one Spiderman against two opponents when one of them – Sandman - was so huge? I thought and shook with fear. Tonight I might lose my life and along me both MJ and Peter. Was this really how this story ended?

As we anticipated, Peter came. He would never let MJ die just to save his own skin. Unfortunately, before he even managed to reach us, he was stalled by Symbiont. MJ managed to drop a brick on its head, so it would let Peter go, but then Sandman attacked.

It was bad. It was really bad.

Then… out of nowhere one of Green Goblin's bomb was thrown at Sandman and it exploded.

I couldn't believe it, but Harry came to help Peter! He came in Goblin's outfit, flying on the board and just helped Peter out to it. Together they managed to transport both me and MJ to a building that was under construction nearby. At least we had ground beneath our feet now.

Harry took care of Sandman, so there was only one opponent left against the two. Odds more in Spiderman and Goblin's favor.

I was still scared though and confused. The last time I'd seen Harry was both exhilarating and terrifying. I wondered whether he came to save MJ or me. Probably the first option. I still felt humiliated and then…

We heard Peter's scream, "Harry!" And then a dull sound like a body falling.

In this very second I forgot about my own problems. Nothing that Harry had done to me mattered anymore. His life mattered as I couldn't imagine a world without him. I shot MJ a scared look and we both ran down the stairs to the level under us.

It was Harry and he was lying on the ground. He didn't move. Why wasn't he moving? I was panicking as I got to him first and dropped on my knees. There was so much blood. Blood coming from the wounds in his chest. My whole body was shaking, heart beating way too fast. I couldn't understand this, couldn't even comprehend. Harry was dying. I could only pull his head into my laps, so he wouldn't have to lie on the hard floor.

"I'll go get help," MJ said as she took in the scene and she was just about to go.

"No," Harry stopped her. "Stay…" He reached his hand to her what sickened me a little.

MJ just nodded but still couldn't seem to face the truth. Just like me.

"Harry…" I whispered, looking down at his face, my voice breaking. "Don't give up. Hold on, you can do this. I know you can."

Finally, Peter appeared and he was crying just like the rest of us.

"Harry…" he started.

"I'm sorry, bro. You're my best friend and… yes, my father died because he was careless. I know you had nothing to do with it. You were just defending yourself…" Harry apologized.

"I'm sorry for your face, Harry…" Peter started again when also crouching on the ground.

"It's ok, it doesn't matter anymore…" Harry joined Peter's and MJ's hands together. "Lora…" he, then, turned to me. "I'm sorry. I am so sorry… for everything I've done to you. I've always loved you. Honestly, faithfully… I realized it just today. Please, forgive me," he begged.

I was drowning in his hazel eyes, not really able to understand all that he was saying. He loved me? But he was dying and… I reacted purely on instinct. I leaned toward him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. I hope this told him everything he needed to know. Then I felt his lips slackening under mine and I knew he was gone.

"No! No! Don't you leave me! NOT BEFORE WE EVEN STARTED!" I screamed, sobbing frantically. The overwhelming feeling of lost breaking my heart, shattering it into pieces.

I felt Peter's and MJ's arms around me, but it didn't help. I thought I was dead inside. Nothing left but the pain.

* * *

Pain. Pain. Pain…

Emptiness.

Without end.

I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't do anything.

It got even worse at the funeral.

Peter and MJ were standing separately. What had happened? I thought they would be together, but I stopped worrying. My broken heart was enough to handle for now.

They tried to take care of me, but I didn't let them. I stayed there, all alone. I needed to be alone over Harry's grave. Just me and him. And the sky.

I fell to my knees, having no strength left inside of me anymore. No strength for life.

_Why did you leave me? WHY?_

...alone…

* * *

A week passed by and I still couldn't deal. I had the impression that the door to my apartment would open at any moment and Harry would just come inside with a smile on his face.

But he was dead.

Suddenly, I started thinking that I would've handled it all much better if he hadn't told me he loved me. Then I could've hated him. The other side of me was grateful though. Once I would've given everything to hear those words and finally, I had.

MJ wanted to cheer me up with the news that she and Peter were back together and planning their wedding, but it didn't help. It made me feel even worse. I knew she had good intentions, but right now I needed to just be alone. I needed to suffer when hearing Harry's voice in my head all the time: _I've always loved you…_

* * *

My phone rang, waking me up.

"Ms. Anderson?"

"Yes?" I asked in confusion.

"This is Mr. Osborn's servant. I know it has been only a week, but… could you come over to sort out Harry's stuff? I think he would want you to be the one to do that."

"Thank you…" I almost sobbed while picturing myself Harry's sweater. The one I'd loved on him. I needed to keep that sweater.

I tried to pull myself together and then I called Peter.

"Peter? It's Lora… I need to ask you a favor. Could you come with me to Harry's mansion today? His servant wants me to look through Harry's stuff and… I know I can't do it alone. You were his best friend. Please, I need you there."

"Sure. No problem. Just tell me when."

"Thanks."

I didn't want to ask MJ. It wouldn't seem right.

* * *

An hour later I met Peter right in front of the mansion. I shivered at the sight of this building.

"Hey, easy there. You don't have to do this now, you know." He put his arm around me and this time I snuggled into his chest with gratitude.

"But I want to," I answered and finally faced the front door. I needed to go inside.

"I want you to know that it's hard for me too. I miss him every single minute," Peter said.

"I know." I nodded.

He followed me to Harry's room.

When I opened his wardrobe and took the sweater… I snapped and started crying again.

"Lora…" Peter was there again, putting his arms around me.

"I need to… I need to be alone for a minute," I stammered, pulled away and left the room.

He understood and didn't follow me.

I stopped in the living room, looking in the mirror. My face was swollen from crying. Great, I looked terrible. Then I noticed that there was something wrong with the mirror itself. I came closer and discovered a hidden room behind it.

I saw all the stuff that Goblin had been using. This must be the hiding-place of Norman Osborn's that Harry had discovered, I realized.

There was something else that attracted my attention – a sealed envelope just lying on the floor. My name was written on top of it.

I picked it up.

"Lora!" Peter got inside, so I hid what I found in my pocket. "I need to go, I heard the police… it's time for Spiderman. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Maybe you were right. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this today," I said.

"Miss Anderson?" I heard the servant when I was just about to leave the mansion, Peter already gone.

"Yes?" I turned to him.

"I think… before you leave… you should look into the hidden room behind the mirror."

"I did that already. Thank you," I said and got out.

What was it? I wondered, couldn't wait till I read the letter inside.


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 08**

I made sure I was alone in the alley before I ripped the envelope open. There was a document case with a letter inside.

I reached for the letter first.

_Honey,_

_If you're reading this, it means that I'm dead…_

I felt cold inside of me this instance. And pain. It's been always there ever since I'd lost him.

_I want you to know that I'm sorry, but I also want you to know that not everything is lost just yet. My father left me these instructions and I'm giving them to you. I discovered it a few days ago. I'm writing this letter in a hurry, because I have to go save you and MJ. I have to go help Peter. He's lost without me._

I smiled through my tears. It sounded just like Harry.

_I love you._

_Harry._

I was suddenly out of tears, took the document case and looked into it.

I was left in shock.

_Resurrection… _I read when taking a closer look at it and then I just ran back to the mansion.

I knocked on the door insistently.

"Where is it?" I asked when the servant opened it.

"In the cellar," he answered me calmly like he knew exactly what was going to happen. Of course, he knew! Harry must've told him before he'd died!

I listened and just ran to the pointed cellar.

I found the switch and turned the lights on, realizing it was turned into a lab. There was a big fridge right beside me and right next to it some kind of a machine that reminded me of a shower cabin in a bathroom.

"In the fridge," I suddenly heard the servant's voice from behind me, causing me to jump.

I came closer to the fringe, my whole body shaking by now. I knew what I would find in there and I knew it would be best if I didn't look. I couldn't help it though. Something was calling me to see inside and I finally opened it. I almost screamed when I saw Harry's body. Harry's dead frozen body.

"I put rocks into his coffin," the servant informed me.

"Why now? Why didn't you tell me before?" I asked, turning to face him. "It's been a whole week," there was accusation in my voice. I still couldn't believe it. I still felt like I was dreaming, but I needed an answer. I'd been suffering for so long and it looked like I'd suffered for nothing. Like there had always been a way out.

"I thought I would see you here sooner. Unfortunately, I was wrong, so I called you."

"When can we start?" I just asked, still feeling so surreal. Like it was not even my body I was in. Like I was watching a movie from a distance. A move with me as the lead.

"Right away."

"Do you know what to do?"

"Yes."

I turned the machine on, but it was the only thing I did. I had no idea how this worked and I didn't think clearly, so I couldn't just sit over the instructions and read them. I had a feeling that words would look like hieroglyphs to me at this point. Luckily for me, the servant knew what to do so he took over from here. He also took care of Harry's body. Thank God for that. I couldn't stand it looking so… dead.

I didn't know how much time had passed, but it seemed like only a few seconds, although probably a lot more. Suddenly, the room was filled with mist and I couldn't see anything.

"Too much secrets, don't you think?" I asked toward the place I thought the servant was standing. To be honest, he was kind of creepy. Always there looking, always knowing what was going on in the mansion, but never speaking much to you, never smiling. He was like a ghost trapped in here. I didn't even know his name, I realized. Harry had never referred to him by his name, not that I'd heard.

"I'm not a type of man who talks much," he answered to my astonishment. (Really? No kidding!) Only then he just left the cellar and I heard the door closing soundly.

"Hello?" I asked when getting a little scared. "Hey, what are you…?" I started when I stopped on hearing somebody coughing.

There was supposed to be no one else but me in this place, I froze. Then the mist dissipated and…

"Harry?" I saw a man walking out of the machine. "Is it really you?" I asked in such a shaky voice that I didn't recognize it. I felt like I would faint any second now.

And there he was. I looked at him with my eyes widely opened. I was looking at Harry. And I couldn't speak another word, not even knowing how to. I could move though, so I got closer, making tiny steps with my feet that felt like made out of jelly.

He was just standing there. Looking at me. Was he real? Was he alive? Was it truly Harry or just a resurrected body with no one inside? I wondered in fear.

I made my way to him and reached my hand to touch his cheek, feeling the familiar skin underneath my fingers, his chin, his face that was perfect again with no burn marks, like the machine healed him.

…and I found myself in his arms again. He just swept me into his arms! I realized when I gasped at the closeness, at the feeling of his strong arms around me, his breath on my cheek.

I was happy. I was in heaven.

"Lora, honey," were the first words he said to me while hugging me tight. "I love you. Thank you!" He found my lips and we kissed. And it was the greatest kiss in the world. This kind of a kiss after a long time you'd been thinking your love had been dead, that you would never hold him again, never touch him again.

I was still speechless, I could only feel and touch. I felt him raising me up and taking me upstairs, then to his bedroom.

"You have no idea what I've been through," I finally whispered when he placed me on the bed and hovered over me. I couldn't stop looking into his eyes and touching his face.

"I'm so sorry. I thought I might die so I wrote to you," he explained. "Wait, how long it's been?" there was worry evident in his voice.

And then I told him.

"Why?" There was surprise on his face.

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't come here sooner on my own, it was your servant who called me."

"My poor thing. I am so, so sorry…" Harry murmured against my lips before he kissed me again.

"It's ok, it was worth it… or… am I dreaming? Because if I am, I don't want to weak up, ever," I said when caressing his face, especially the place when he'd had burned earlier and now it was spotless.

"It's not a dream. It's reality," he answered.

Good thing he was half naked already, I thought. It made it quicker. He was inside of me within a few seconds.

"Harry!" I moaned deeply, arching my back, desperate to feel him everywhere. Desperate for him to make me believe he was there, truly alive, truly with me. That he truly loved me.

He proved it all to me when moving inside of me hard, but in the same time soft. He kept telling me he loved me, kept kissing the various parts of my body as he was pushing inside.

* * *

I woke up and looked around. There was no Harry in the bed. Only a lot of used tissues.

He was dead. NO! He was…

I started screaming.

* * *

And I got up with a scream.

"Honey… honey… it was just a dream…" He was there, right beside me. "Lora… look at me!" He took my face in his hands. "Look at me. I am here. I am alive. It was just a dream," he kept on saying.

"Yeah," I sighed, breathing heavily, terrified of the feelings I'd had in that dream, that nightmare. "It was so real… you were dead… I thought that _this _was a dream…"I explained when shaking.

"It's not. I'm here." I lay down again when snuggling into his naked body. His arms were wounded tightly around me. I could feel the beating of his heart.

"I will never leave you again," he reassured me when kissing me softly.


	9. Chapter 9

**Part 09**

We were so busy with Harry that we hadn't seen Peter or MJ. Besides, I couldn't just tell them the news over the phone. It was the kind of thing that needed to be said when seeing them face to face. And the problem was that I didn't really feel like leaving Harry's house to go anywhere. We were finally happy. All the issues that had been there between us in the past resolved, so we couldn't get enough of each other. Still, it was eating up at me and I knew we would finally have to tell out friends.

I was about to make the call when a few days later I realized that having Harry back meant having the old Harry back. Maybe we didn't have any problems anymore, but he still had them with Peter. He still mourned after his father's death. This brief moment of conciliation that had happened before Harry had had died wasn't enough to ease all that pain up.

"Harry, I think it's high time to tell them," I finally spoke. "It's been too long."

"If you want to," he just answered. I didn't know what that was supposed to mean. Maybe Harry wanted Peter to suffer a little. He might know the truth how his father had died, but Peter had still been then when it'd happened. Peter had still kept this secret from Harry for way too long.

"And… Harry?" I asked again.

"Yes?"

"The machines that brought you back… you'd become the Goblin thanks to it, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did."

"And your father…"

"Lora, where are you going with this exactly?" his voice grew harder, impatient.

"Don't you think that it made you aggressive again?"

"No."

"I do."

"You don't know anything!" he suddenly burst and I had my answer. I knew he wouldn't hurt me, I could feel it, but it didn't mean he would be peaceful.

"Exactly. This is what I'm talking about. You're screaming. Did your feeling for MJ came back as well?" I suddenly asked, scared that they might. I still had troubles believing that he loved me. "Maybe this is the reason why you don't want to tell them that you're back. You're afraid to see her again."

"No, Lora, don't you dare to think this way," his voice grew softer as he made his way to me and cupped my face, "I love you. This is the only thing I'm sure in my life and it will never change. I promise. It's complicated with Peter. I know what happened, but I'm still angry with him for not trusting me enough to tell me the truth. Friends should be honest with each other. He was there when my father died. He always had the answers I needed and he would never tell me if I didn't find out on my own."

"But… you gave up his life for him," I noticed.

"I know. That's why it's so complicated. It's still inside of me, eating me up."

"We can fight this. I'm here to help you. I'm sure that when you see him, it'll be alright again." I hugged Harry. "We just need to move forward and deal with it."

* * *

"Lora?" MJ just called me. "Is everything alright?" she asked, concerned.

"Yes." I was trying not to sound too happy, but she noticed it anyway.

"You sound… happier. Good. Would you like to meet for coffee?"

"Sure. Just tell me when and where."

* * *

"Honey!" I heard Harry from downstairs when I hung on. "Can you come down here for a moment?"

"Coming!" I called and made my way. "I have to tell you something! We're going to see MJ and…" I cut short, because when I got to Harry… his father was standing right beside him.

"So, this is the love of your life?" Norman asked.

"Lora, you remember my father," Harry said when putting his arm around me. Was I dreaming? Was he a ghost? I could just stand there, completely dumbfounded.

"Harry… what did you do?" I asked slowly, my face gradually getting paler.

"I used the rest of the great cure to bring my father back," he answered, clearly happy for what he'd done. "After all, it was his idea to use it."

"Son, if this woman brought you back to life, it means that she's not after your money. You have my blessing. She really loves you, she's just proven it to you." Then Norman Osborn laughed in a very strange and disturbing way.

I - for a change - didn't feel like laughing at all.

* * *

"Harry, please, you have to promise me that you won't let him do anything stupid," I begged him when we were lying in bed that night.

"You have nothing to be worry about, sweetie, it's fine. He's fine," Harry assured me.

"I know, but… I'm sorry for what I'm about to say, but your father did a lot of bad things. He almost killed Peter and MJ, remember?"

Harry suddenly sat up on the bed.

"My father isn't a murderer!" he said harshly.

"No, he's not, but Green Goblin is," I said calmly. "Just don't let him turn into it again. By the way, we're seeing MJ and Peter tomorrow."

"Do you want them to get a heart attack?" Harry asked, this time chuckling.

"Why?"

"They can't just see me."

"How are they supposed to find out, then?"

"You tell them, then I'll appear."

* * *

I went to that meeting with my heart hammering in my chest the next day. I was struck by seeing three people instead of two by the table. When I came closer I realized that the third one was Boddy. My ex-boyfriend from high school!

"Lora!" He was so happy to see me. Well, it wasn't mutual. I could see just look at him, baffled.

"You look… good," MJ said when being a little surprised and hugged me, then Peter followed her.

"Yeah, I have to tell you w something…" I started when I finally took my seat. I did my best not to look at Bobby.

"I hope you've managed with those things, you know… Harry's things," Peter mentioned, shooting MJ a worried look. Something told me that he wasn't happy about Bobby being there just like I wasn't.

"Actually…" I started again.

"Lora, this is Bobby, do you remember him?" MJ asked, interrupting.

How could I forget? I wondered.

"I told you it wasn't a very good idea," Peter finally whispered to her, proving my suspicions right.

"Yeah, I guess I remember," I answered carefully. I knew what they were trying to do and it made me mad.

"I know it's been only a few weeks since… but maybe you would give me a chance?" Bobby asked.

"Bobby's been in love with you for like… forever!" MJ suddenly burst.

I knew she was trying, but she was clearly trying too hard. I realized that I'd always been confessing all my fears and bouts about Harry's love to her. It was a high possibility that she didn't really believe Harry when he told me he loved me and decided that I should move on and finally be happy. All MJ had been seeing throughout my relationship with Harry was my pain.

Still, I felt hurt and deeply offended.

"I can't believe it!" I yelled when getting up. I walked straight to the exit. So what that me and Harry had had problems?! Did she think he meant for me so little that I could just start seeing somebody else after couple of weeks? That this would heal all my wounds? If Harry was actually dead, I might never speak to MJ again!

They ran after me. All three of them.

"Is everything alright?" MJ asked. "Why are you laughing?" She looked at me, really horrified.

Yes, I was laughing. I didn't know why, but it all got suddenly so funny!

"She's having a break-down and you're setting her up with another man!" Peter said to MJ angrily. "Just look at her!"

"So, maybe I…" Bobby started, but he didn't finish, because something just wiped him off the ground. Something green.

"Oh, no!" I yelled. "Harry!"

"Harry?" Peter was so shocked that he probably thought I was, indeed, crazy. MJ opened her mouth, but didn't say anything.

"I know, I was just about to tell you the truth and then you… Bobby? Really? Did you really think that if Harry was dead, I would go out with this jackass? Anyway, Harry's father invented some kind of a machine and some chemical substance to bring people back from the dead. I brought Harry back and he kind of… used the rest of this substance to bring back his father…" my voice trailed off, because the last one wasn't really a good news.

"WHAT?!" Peter exclaimed. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"And you didn't say anything in the first place?" MJ started yelling at me too.

I didn't answer.

"When did it happen?" Peter ask, doing his best to calm himself down.

"When… when we were at the mansion together and you ran away to save the city," I answered looking down.

"It was a long time ago!"

"I'm sorry, ok? But I just… I needed him for myself for a while!"

"Physics can do anything, right?" Peter snorted. "But there are always consequences, Lora, _always_!"

"I think you should help Bobby. Harry can get really jealous."

"And what if he's Goblin again? And his father? Lora! How could you mess with something like that? You don't interfere with the life and death!"

"But I love him!" I exclaimed. "What if that was MJ? Wouldn't you do the same?"

It must shut him down, because he just sighed and disappeared where Goblin had gone.

I ran up there with MJ.


	10. Chapter 10

**Part 10**

Harry was waiting for us, holding Bobby by his jacket.

"Honey, let him go," I told him. "You promised you won't be acting like this anymore."

He listened to my relief and Bobby was soon free.

MJ came closer, evidently stunned, unable to say a word and for a moment I was wondering what if… Only I had nothing to be worry about, because Harry wasn't looking at her like that anymore, he wasn't in love with her. He was really in love with me.

"Mary-Jane!" he exclaimed with a smile and hugged her, but it was nothing more than a friendly hug.

"Harry, I can't believe it," she whispered in awe.

"I know," he smiled to her when letting her go. "Hey, bro!" he turned to Peter.

I was watching Harry very closely and noticed that he was fighting himself. Something was clearly telling him to attack his best friend, but it was Harry who won at the end.

"I missed you," Peter admitted. "Don't you do anything like that ever again, ok?"

"You know I like to have a big entrance!"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Bobby suddenly cut in, terrified. "You two set me up on a date with a girl whose boyfriend suddenly came back from the death?! And he's kidnapping me? Was he even dead in the first place or you were just playing me?!"

"Chill out," Harry said and suddenly we all – except Bobby – burst out laughing. "Nobody will take my girlfriend away from me," he told him and I could sense the rage in his voice.

"Lora, I'm sorry. I'll call you," Bobby just said and walked away.

"No, you will not!" Harry yelled after him.

"It wasn't nice. You were mean to him," I turned to him. "I'm not your possession, so stop treating me like one!"

He laughed again and then he just flew away.

"Lora?" Peter started warningly.

"Since when… Bobby knows that you are Spiderman?" I asked, realizing that just now.

"It's a long story, but he's our friend," Peter reassured me.

"And he's hitting on me," I added unhappily.

" Lora, I know it was too early to set you up with him," MJ admitted. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. Harry's here, so let's forget about all of this." I waved my hand.

"Did it ever occur to you that you did something wrong? Something against the very nature?" Peter suddenly asked me.

"What are you talking about?"

"What if we have to stop Harry and his father all over again? What if they are bad? I don't want to kill my best friend."

"What the hell are you even thinking?!" I asked him in shock.

"If they come back to their old habits, we may not have a choice here," Peter warned me.

"They won't!" I argued.

"Lora…" MJ got closer to me.

"No! Go away! Leave me alone!"

"Just please, look after Harry, don't let him become his father."

* * *

What happened later scared the hell out of me.

Harry and his father had turned bad again just like Peter anticipated, but I couldn't blame Harry for all of the bad things Green Goblin had been doing, because most of those times he'd been with me.

"Harry, it's your father, isn't it?" I asked one night while lying in bed, snuggled up to him. The painful true was that I couldn't stop loving him even if he was bad. Not when he finally loved me back just as eagerly.

"Lora, please… we've talked about it," he denied sharply. I could feel the tension running through his whole body.

"Harry, the price for bringing him back was too high, don't you think?" I continued anyway. "During his previous life he deeply offended MJ at Thanksgiving, remember?

"It turned out for the best for you, didn't it?" he snorted.

"Don't say that. Your relationship with her would've ended eventually anyway."

"Sure. Because of Peter," Harry said again.

"Can you be serious just for a moment?"

"No!" He started kissing me and I surrendered and let him, because I wanted him. I always wanted him. We made love and once again, he was a distraction to my thoughts.

* * *

The next day I got some disturbing news.

"Lora, Harry attacked me," Peter called me.

"What?"

"He just attacked me. I ran away, because I didn't want to fight back."

"But Harry couldn't! How could he still want his revenge if his father's alive?"

"What happened, happened," was all Peter said in explanation.

"He knows that it wasn't your fault!"

"Tell him that. Lora, his father's brainwashing him. We have to do something before it's too late!"

"I'll talk to him," I promised. I knew Peter cared about Harry nearly as much as I did. He didn't want him hurt or dead, he just wanted him better.

"Harry, you have to end it," I faced my lover.

"End what?" he seemed surprised. He wanted to kiss me, but I moved away this time. "What is it?" he promoted.

"You want to hurt Peter. Again."

"So?"

"It's wrong. He didn't do anything to do. Your father wanted to kill him, so he was just defending his own life, remember?"

I saw sudden rage on Harry's face.

"Don't you dare talking like that about my father!" he threatened.

"But it's true. He has a bad influence on you."

"No! Stop it!"

"Harry, you have to choose…" I was just making the hardest decision in my life, but I had to. There was not really any other choice at the moment. "You stop being Goblin or you will lose me. Me or this. Choose."

"Honey, you can't…" he started.

"But I can and I will. The last time you chose me and you came to save my life. You sacrificed yourself for Peter. You gave your life for him! How can you hurt him after all of this?"

He didn't answer.

"You were probably thinking that I wouldn't dare do this. That I wouldn't dare to leave you, because I love you too much. Well, you were right that I love you too much, but I'm also strong. I will be suffering… a lot… but I think I will succeed. I love you and I will always love you. No matter what, but it doesn't mean that I will be with you. I need to be honest with myself. This is not the life I wanted. Our love was always toxic. I loved you like crazy and right now… you are not the Harry I was in love with," I confessed.

"You can't do this! What if I _make _you stay?"

"Oh, you won't," I said, very sure of it. "I'm not scared of you. You won't hurt me, because you love me. You've had plenty of opportunities and you never hurt me. When you love somebody you either let them go or you fight for them and I hope you have enough courage for the latter." After having said that, I just walked out of his house.


	11. Chapter 11

**Part 11**

I hadn't heard from Harry for a couple of days. I was so sure that I'd done the right thing when leaving, but what if I'd only made things worse? I wondered.

No, I couldn't think like this. I needed to protect myself and my heart. I couldn't get into a toxic relationship once again. It wouldn't bring me happiness at all and I needed to be smarter than that. Now I was actually more furious than I was hurt.

Bobby chose that exact moment to call me and ask for a meeting. Actually, I was surprised that he was brave enough to do it. Maybe it was just because of that fact that I said yet. That and my angriness with Harry. I wanted him to be hurt this time. Let him taste what it was like to be jealous out of one's mind.

"I'm so happy that you agreed to meet me," Bobby said once I saw him and his eyes sparkled. "You know, despite that case with Harry Osborn."

"Yeah," I admitted. "I still don't know if I did the right thing with bringing him back. I can't watch how bad he is right now…" I bit my lip. And there we went again. Was Harry all I could actually think and talk about? I needed to change the topic.

"But you still love him," Bobby said.

"Bobby, I'm sorry," was all I could answer. He didn't deserve to be lied to.

"It's ok, I understand. Harry's your first love. I just want you to know that I've always felt like this toward you."

Suddenly, all this plan to hurt Harry seemed like a very bad idea. I just couldn't use a man who still had feelings for me. I couldn't hurt him. It wasn't me. I wasn't that cruel.

"Maybe if you could just give me a chance…" Bobby continued.

"I'm sorry, but it just doesn't work that way," I said. "This was a mistake. I don't want to hurt you and it's exactly what I'm doing right now, so…"

"Kiss me," he suddenly asked.

"What?" I shot me a bewildered look.

"You heard me. It's not much. Just one kiss, maybe you feel something, who knows? One kiss and I'll let you go."

"Yes, it is too much," we suddenly heard Harry's voice. How did he find out about this meeting? I wondered. Still, wasn't it what I wanted?

"Harry, please, don't make a scene," I asked him.

"Keep your hands off my girlfriend," Harry growled at Bobby.

"If I recall correctly, she is not yours anymore," Bobby answered back bravely.

"Just the opposite," Harry corrected.

"You know what? This kind of fight for me is not what I was talking about," I turned to Harry. I didn't like his behavior at all. "I'm sorry Bobby," I repeated and then walked away.

Harry stopped me.

"You will just walk away like that?" he asked harshly.

"Yes."

"I love you."

"And I love you."

"Don't go, then."

"I can't stay with you. I can't watch you becoming your father. First change yourself and help him."

"Come on…" He took my arm.

"Ok, then… farewell," I said, passing right by him.

"Lora!"

I didn't stop. I didn't want him to see me so weak as I was crying.

* * *

Bobby called again in the evening.

"I'm sorry, but didn't I make it clear for you?" I asked sharply.

"I can't leave you alone. I'll fight for you because you don't deserve Osborn," he said stubbornly.

"Who do you think you are to tell me whom I deserve?"

"I know what I'm saying."

"Maybe MJ and Peter told you everything about them there was to know, but they clearly missed the fact of what we'd been through with Harry before he realized he loved me. I won't give up on him so easily, so please, don't waste your time on me. Goodbye," I hung up.

"Lora?" Peter jumped through my window and scared the hell out of me.

"Jesus! Don't do that! I have a door, you know." Then I looked closely at his face and asked, "What happened?"

"MJ disappeared."

"What do you…?"

"It was Harry's father," Peter explained, interrupting me.

"No way!"

"I wish."

"Where's he keeping her?" I asked, really mad. "I'll go to Harry's place and maybe he'll listen."

"You don't understand… they planned it together!" Peter stopped me and I lost my countenance.

"But Harry…" I started.

"Lora, he was ok with you, but when you left him… the only person that had any influence on him was his father."

"I was so sure it would work," I sighed. "Peter, it's all my fault. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," he added quickly. "Just… do something, help me if you can, but only if you don't get hurt in the process."

"No problem. Harry wouldn't hurt me, trust me."

* * *

I was just about to go to Harry's when another creature came through my window. This time he missed the opened one and I had to cover my head with my hands as the glass shattered.

I looked up and saw Goblin, but…

"Bobby?" I asked in shock. "How? What the hell are you doing?"

"You loved Harry. He was strong and powerful as was a Goblin, so I decided to become one myself. Now you can love me, right? I can help you to get rid of Harry and his father and…"

"What?! Just listen to yourself! You're crazy!" I couldn't believe it! This wasn't the Bobby I knew, but again, everyone turning into Goblin weren't themselves. "Bobby, you don't understand… the machine you used… it brings the worst out of people… it's not power, it's destruction!" I tried to make him listen.

"Stop it, I know you'll change your mind eventually." Then he kidnapped me. "I promised Mr. Osborn that I would bring you to him. Of course, Harry has no idea."

"You were the one who kidnapped MJ," I figured the truth.

"No, that was Mr. Osborn."

"Still, they think Harry planned this with his father when in fact, you did!"

"Harry's father's pissed that you used his son. It was an easy deal."

"I didn't use…" I started, but then I was interrupted.

"He wants to kill you, but he doesn't know the truth. I'll kill him and his precious son and then you and me will finally be free and together."

"You're mad!"

"Shut up!"

We soon found ourselves in the Osborn's cellar.

"Great!" I saw Norman standing right in front of me, clapping his hands. "Tie her up!" He pointed the other side of the room where there were two chairs, one already taken by MJ. Her legs and hands tied up, mouth gagged.

"No! HARRY!" I screamed and started struggling with them. I couldn't let them win.

Norman was clearly raged for what I'd just done.

"Shut the fuck up, you whore!" He slapped me across the face and I actually stopped screaming, surprised at the sudden blow. "You know what hurts me the most?" He continued, this time in a much calmer voice. "You were perfect, you seemed perfect and… then you used my son anyway!"

"Dad?" we heard Harry's voice at the top of the stairs leading to the cellar. "What are you doing?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 12**

"What is it?" Harry asked again. I thought his eyes could kill in this moment.

"Nothing, son," Norman answered like he was brushing the whole situation off.

"I don't believe you!" Harry descended the stairs.

"It's…"

"Your father wants to kill your girlfriend," Bobby spilled and I understood what he was up to. He wanted to pull Harry on his side, because with it was easier to get rid of enemies where they were on your side.

"I'm not sure I can trust you," Harry hesitated when looking at Bobby. "And since when have you become a Goblin?"

I tried to speak, but nothing except some weird noises came out of my mouth.

"He wants to kill you all!" I finally managed to articulate, but I couldn't say anything more because Bobby hit me and my chair with me tied to it fell to the floor. Still, thanks to that I found myself free of the ropes that had been restraining me.

"Don't you dare touch her ever again!" Harry was clearly mad.

"Son, why would you want a woman who's cheating on you?" Norman asked, still trying to pull his son onto his side.

Harry looked like was just about to hit him.

"Don't!" He pointed his finger at his father.

Something was happening to him. A realization came to him, I could tell.

Harry never raised his hand on me, never hit me, he was never able to hurt me physically – even when he'd become a Goblin and I could swear that in some point he'd even wanted to - he hadn't done it. He just couldn't. It was a key to his humanity. I was that key!

I reached to my mouth, removing the gag.

"Bobby wants me for all cost, he wants to kill you, your father, MJ and Peter," I said as fast as I could before somebody would manage to stop me again.

There was silence. Nobody moved.

Finally, Harry's father sputtered with rage and got closer to me.

"I will cut you to pieces, you little whore!"

I had no way to run since there was a wall right behind me.

Suddenly, something whizzed and Norman Osborn fell on the ground with a poker sticking out of his chest. He barely managed to look back at his son, stunned and… then he just died.

Harry just killed his father.

"You are not my father, my father died when Goblin was born," Harry said when shaking visibly.

I wanted to run to him, to hug him, to tell him that everything would be alright, but I didn't get to him, because Bobby was there first. He didn't kill Harry though as I reacted fast and caught one of the Goblin's bomb, thrusting it on him. The bomb exploded, killing Bobby on the spot.

Harry looked at me in evident surprise and fear in his eyes, but he was alright and only that was important. Then he finally reached to me and held me tight in his arms.

"It's over, honey… it's over," he was whispering into my ear while rubbing my back gently.

We heard somebody clearing his throat and looked into that direction.

MJ was still tied up to a chair. How could we forget about her? I wondered, nearly laughing now.

"I'm sorry, my friend," Harry almost laughed as well and made a step toward her.

"Don't move," we suddenly heard Peter's warning voice.

He was standing at the top of the stairs with a gun in his hand. A gun that was aimed at Harry!

"No!" I yelled and MJ started to giving out some strange noises through her gag.

"I know, honey, it will be all over soon," Peter said, clearly taking those noises for permission, not the other way around as it was supposed to be. "I'm sorry, buddy, but… there is no other way."

Harry started talking, but Peter pulled the trigger in the same time and I – exactly in the same time again – jumped to Harry.

I was the one who fell to the floor, I was the one bleeding to death, I was the one who Peter shot, I suddenly realized as the pain hit me.

I saw Harry bending over me…

And then there was only darkness…

* * *

I opened my eyes and saw some white spots. Then I finally saw the face I loved so much.

"Thanks God, Lora, my love. We were so scared," he whispered when caressing my cheek.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"Me?" he suddenly laughed. "You were the one who got shot and you're asking me if I'm fine?"

I tried to sit up, but something hurt me in my chest.

"Easy there," he said warningly. "You've been shot."

I lay back down, listening to him. What was important was that we were both alive.

Now I noticed that he was holding my hand the whole time and didn't want to let go. I looked around, seeing MJ with Peter on the other side of my bed. Peter was clearly avoiding my eyes and MJ's hand was on his arm.

"Peter…" I started.

"I'm sorry, Lora. I don't know what I was thinking… I would like to…" he stopped, didn't know what to say, didn't even have the courage to look at me.

"I'm not mad at you, Peter. You're still my friend," I assured him.

"But…"

"Please. I just want to forget the whole thing and to forgive you."

Peter couldn't say anything. I could see him visibly shaking with guilt and eventually, MJ took him outside.

"Thank you," Harry said with tears in his eyes.

"For what?" I asked him, not really following.

"For everything. You haven't given up on me, you loved me although I… I've done so many horrible things… Then you saved my life… I've never loved anybody as much as I love you and I promise you that when you marry me, I'll make it all up to you."

"What did you just say?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in surprise.

"I know we're in a hospital and it's not the best place for marriage proposal, but…" He reached to his pocket and then he showed me the ring.

I cried.

"Of course. Yes. I love you… always… no matter what…" I was so touched. I felt like it was all too much for just one day!

"From now on I will be good, I won't change again, I promise," he swore to me.

And I knew he was telling me the truth.

* * *

MJ and Peter got married, so did I and Harry.

I managed to settle things between me and Peter and then finally, put the past behind us. Now Harry and Peter were working together, Spiderman and Goblin.

And… yes, I was pregnant.


	13. Chapter 13

**Part 13**

Yes, I was pregnant.

"Honey, we're supposed to go for my USG," I said when I saw Harry in Goblin's suit.

"Criminals won't wait for me, sweetie, I have to help Peter. What about MJ?" he suggested.

"Ok," I sighed, "but you will go with me the next time!"

He must've sensed that I wasn't particularly happy about the change of plans because he said, "Honey, I'm truly sorry. I want nothing more than to be there, but I can't just…"

"You can't foresee when you're needed," I said. "I know. And I don't really blame you. Just go."

"Are you sure? Because I can stay if…"

"Go! MJ will kill me if something happens to Peter."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Half an hour later I was in a hospital with MJ.

"Mrs. Osborn?" the nurse asked me.

"Yes?"

"Could you wait a little? We have a slight delay. One of our patients has complications…"

"Sure, no problem, I'll wait."

They called me after another ten minutes.

When I finally stood up, I felt weird like I was dizzy and…

"Lora?" I heard MJ's worried voice, coming to me like from a distance…

* * *

I opened my eyes and found myself lying in a hospital bed.

"Lora, are you ok? How are you feeling?" MJ asked me immediately.

"Good… What happened?"

As I just noticed, my doctor was standing right beside MJ. They didn't look happy, more like concerned and sad.

"What happened?" I asked with panic in my voice.

"Thanks to your pregnancy we've discovered something…" the doctor started, "I'm really sorry, but you have a heart condition."

Wait, what?!

"But… I'll be ok, won't I?"

"As I said, we discovered this thanks to your pregnancy," the doctor started explaining to me, "but we would know sooner or later anyway. I'm very sorry that I have to tell you this, Mrs. Osborn, but there is no cure for what you have."

"Can I… live with it?" I asked, not even trying to accept the alternative.

"For some time… yes, but… then you will have difficulties with breathing and in the end, your heart will just give up," the horrible truth dawned on me.

"How much time do I have?" I asked, surprised that I didn't actually break.

"It's hard to say. It doesn't threaten the baby, but after it's born, I say, plus minus six months… I will leave you alone now… Do you want me to call somebody? Your husband maybe?" she asked politely.

"No!" I heard myself raising my voice. "No," I repeated in much calmer one. "Thank you."

I was left alone with MJ.

"Lora?" she whispered in shock. "Lora?"

"He can't know… do you understand?" I turned to her.

"But…" she tried to oppose.

"No! He can't! Promise me!" I demanded.

"Ok, I promise, but you have to tell him eventually. You don't want him to find out any other way."

"I know, but I just can't tell him right now… He cannot know, because it will break him. Don't tell Peter either."

"Lora…" MJ started, but I cut in.

"Promise me!"

"Alight," she agreed reluctantly.

"It would be too much for Harry… his father just…"

"I know, Lora, I know."

* * *

It was horrible. No one could help me. I was almost alone in this and… I knew I was going to die. God, I didn't want to! I wanted to live for my child and for my husband. It still seemed too surreal to me for it to actually sink in. It seemed a lie while I didn't talk about it. It wasn't true while it was a secret. It couldn't be true.

And I managed to keep it a secret until mine and Harry's daughter was born.

I managed to hide my weakness while telling Harry that I was so tired just because of the pregnancy.

I couldn't foresee one thing after all. I couldn't foresee Harry finding out in a brutal way.

* * *

_Harry was waiting in the hall when the doctor came to him._

_"Your baby was born without any complications," she informed._

_"Boy or girl?" he asked, but didn't really care which one since all that mattered was that the baby was healthy._

_"A girl, the answer came and Harry smiled. He'd just become a father!_

_"Please, wait a moment…" the doctor stopped him when he wanted to get to his wife. "I need to talk to you. You and your wife have to make a decision about her treatment. She couldn't take any pills because of the pregnancy and now when this is over, she could take some that could give her more time."_

_"Excuse me?" Harry wrinkled his forehead, didn't understand a thing._

_And the, he felt like somebody just knocked him down…_

* * *

Harry got inside the room with no smile on his face.

"Are you ok?" I asked, concerned. "You wanted a boy, didn't you?" I huffed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he just asked instead with tears in his eyes.

I covered my mouth with my hands.

"God… how…" I started, but he interrupted me.

"Honey! I can save you!" he exclaimed in a broken voice. "I will take you to the best doctors in the world! I have money for that!"

"It won't help. I knew that would be first thing you would do, so I checked it up myself. It won't help. It is inoperable."

The door opened and a nurse brought our daughter. I couldn't even imagine what Harry must felt in this moment. The joy of having a daughter… the pain of watching his wife die.

"You have to take care of her," I said, interrupting the silence. "She'll only have you. She won't even remember me."

"No!" he sobbed, starting to break and then he looked at me again. "Honey, don't… I can't lose you!"

"I know it will hurt and believe me, I really do know, because I've been through it, but you are strong…" I started.

"I know that I deserve the pain for everything I've done, but… why would you?" he just asked.

"No. You don't deserve anything bad. You just have to accept the reality, Harry. These things happens. We have to spend the time we have left together and it's all we can do."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"There must be a way," he was being persistent.

"There isn't."

"If I didn't use that substance on my father…" he started.

"Honey…"

"No. Don't say anything…" he stopped me and…

I was left in shock when he actually walked to the door and left.

I didn't stop him though when understanding that he needed some time alone to adjust.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN **I realize that this story arc is getting terrible, but I don't have the strength anymore to fight my own bad writing from years ago. We're close to the end anyway.

* * *

**Part 14**

_Harry went straight to a bar and after a couple of minutes, Peter sat by his side._

_"What are you doing here?" Harry asked him when sipping his drink._

_"I should ask you that question," Peter sighed. "MJ sent me," the answer finally came._

_"MJ? She knows?"_

_"Yes."_

_"And you…"_

_"I didn't… until now… I'm so sorry."_

_"Why didn't she tell me? I could've helped her!" Harry raised his voice in anger and slammed the empty glass on the counter._

_"You know why," Peter just said calmly._

_"I can't deal with this right now. I have a little child and I can't be happy because her mother will die soon! I can't come back there now!"_

_"You have to, you should. Time for grief will come later."_

_As much as it pained Harry, he needed to admit it was true. He just patted Peter's back and walked out of the bar._

* * *

Harry came back when I was just holding our daughter.

"Let's call her Hope," he suggested. "Because we should always have hope."

"Come here, honey," I asked, reaching my hand to him.

He took it, got closer and sat on the edge of my bed. I could see him slowly breaking, I could see the tears in his eyes and my heart clenched in response. I wish I could make him feel better.

"I can't stand it," he confessed with pain in his voice.

"Yes, you can," I decided to at least be his strength. "We're in this together to the end."

* * *

_Harry suddenly came up with something and he had to talk to Peter immediately. _

_"Harry, is everything ok?" Peter asked when he saw his friend so soon after he's gone to the hospital to be with his family._

_"I have an idea and I need you. You just can't tell Lora…"_

_"What is it?" Peter got curious._

_"Do you have any contact with this friend of yours from the university? The one who's making a doctorate from physics right now? What was his name… Tom or something?"_

_"Yeah… I guess so…" Peter said slowly, not really knowing where that was coming._

_"He was always into diseases… heart conditions…"_

_"No. Harry, you can't mess with this."_

_"But I just want a cure!"_

_"You won't get it."_

_"What if that was MJ?" Harry suddenly asked. "Now you understand? Peter, it's Lora! I know you two were always good friends, so you have to…"_

_"Harry, I know it's Lora and believe me, I suffer too. MJ's crying all the time and I don't feel any better."_

_"So let's at least try it!"_

_"Ok," Peter finally agreed, albeit reluctantly._

* * *

I got home soon, but I was still pretty tired and knew it wouldn't get any better.

"Harry, where were you?" I asked while lying on the sofa.

"Are you feeling alright?" he wanted to know, his voice full of concern.

"Yeah… I just felt weak, so I lied down. Hope's sleepi…" And we suddenly heard her crying. "Honey… could you?"

"Sure." Harry brought her. "Do you need any pills? What can I do?" he asked me.

"No, I'm fine… Let's just hope that I'll be fine for a very long time."

I couldn't hide it any longer. The thought of my daughter losing a mother and…

I just burst into tears.

"Oh, my love." Harry held me tight. "Hope will grow up knowing her mother very well… I promise you that."

I nodded, but only sobbed harder into his chest, knowing that I needed to pull myself back together soon. Harry was on the verge of breaking too.

* * *

_Harry and Peter met that friend from university in the evening._

_"What kind of problem do you have, Harry?" he asked so Harry explained the whole situation to him._

_"Listen… I'm working on something and maybe it will help, but… I need you guys, otherwise it will take a long time and we'll never make it's fast enough and… I can't guarantee anything and I need founding for that kind of experiment. Are you in?"_

_"Yes. Money doesn't matter," Harry assured him._

_"Ok, I need a highly advanced lab too."_

_"No problem."_

* * *

I was home. Alone. Again.

Harry wasn't there. It hurt and hurt. Every day the pain was getting stronger. The pain of losing him. I couldn't figure out why the hell he was leaving me alone all the time when a little time was all we had!

"Lora, what's happening?" MJ saw me like that.

"Nothing… it's just Harry…" my voice trailed off.

"What happened?" she inquired.

"He's not around. I need him the most right now and he's just not here," I complained.

"Son of a bitch!" MJ burst in anger.

"MJ…"

"But it's true!"

"Maybe he's coping with this in a different way than I am."

"Bullshit!"

"MJ, I can't go through with this alone. I need him!" I wanted to cry. Recently all I'd been doing was crying, resting and taking care of Hope.

* * *

_MJ walked into the lab and she furious._

_"MJ?" Harry jumped, surprised to see her there. "What are you doing here?" he asked her and then sent Peter a reproachful look._

_"It wasn't me!" Peter raised his hands._

_Tom was looking at them clearly interested._

_"I was following Peter," MJ admitted. "What the hell are _you_ doing?"_

_"We're saving Lora's life," Harry just answered._

_"You what...?"_

_"Tom knows how to make a cure."_

_"And you're sure it'll work?"_

_"We don't know anything for sure."_

_"Harry! You should've been with her right now! She needs you! She's desperate! What if it doesn't work? You will regret to the rest of your life that you abandoned her in this very moment!"MJ gave him a piece of her mind._

_"MJ… I know… I realize that…" Harry looked really touched. "I want to spend every single second with her and my daughter, don't you think I don't, but… what if it does work? I can help her. At least I need to try. We can still have a whole life together."_

_"Spend more time with her and I will help you here," MJ suddenly said, also desperate to buy Lora more time. "Deal?"_


	15. Chapter 15

**Part 15**

Harry came back home and kissed Hope's head. I was lying on the couch – as always – with no strength left.

"Honey…" he finally whispered when getting closer to me. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked, surprised. I didn't expect any apologies from him.

"For not being around when you need me the most," he said, his voice sounding different like he was doing his best to restrain his emotions.

"You know what's the worst?" I suddenly said.

"What?"

"If I'd known from the very beginning… If I'd known back in high school what my life would look like… I still wouldn't have changed a thing. Even if I couldn't have brought you back from the death."

He looked down avoiding my eyes and I knew he was fighting his tears.

"Honey… I want you to know that I love you and I would never leave you like I did if I didn't have a really good reason…" he started, but I stopped him and said, "Come here." I kissed him hard.

He held me tight, but then he moved away.

"What if it's not good for your condition?" he asked.

"Don't worry…" I lied and started kissing him again when undoing his shirt. My heart was pounding like crazy. It was always acting like that when Harry was around.

* * *

"_Lora?" Harry woke up in the morning and looked at his wife. "Are you awake?"_

_She didn't move._

_"Lora!... Oh, my God… please, wake up!" He shook her gently._

_Only she wasn't waking up. He quickly took her to a hospital and then called his friends._

_MJ and Peter got there quickly._

_"What's with her?" they asked, concerned._

_"I don't know," Harry just answered, putting his hands to his head in a helpless gesture._

_The doctor came after another ten nervous minutes._

_"She's alive but in a coma and I can't tell you if she wakes up…" he delivered the dreadful news. "All we can do now is just wait."_

_They had to act fast._

_They all got to the lab._

_"Tom, how far are we?" Harry asked impatiently. "We have only days, maybe even hours!"_

_"Calm down, Harry… I do everything I can to speed up the process, but…" he sighed. "Ok, I may finish in a couple of hours," he finally decided._

_"What can we do to help?" Peter asked. "We have to save her."_

* * *

"_I need rest… just for a minute… and drink some water," Harry said when getting out of the lab after an hour._

_He opened his locker to get a bottle of water and the locker right to his opened too. Something dropped on the floor. Harry picked it up to put it back where it belonged when…_

"_Tom!" he burst back into the lab, mad._

_"We finished!" Tom exclaimed in satisfaction._

_"What the hell is that?" Harry ignored it and threw something at him._

_It turned out to be a piece of paper._

_"How did you get this?" Tom got pale._

_"What is it?" Peter got interested._

_"Your friend is suffering from the very same heart condition that Lora is!"_

_"Why didn't you tell us?" Peter asked in surprise._

_"It's not exactly the same condition…" Tom tried to explain himself._

_"Oh, really?"_

_"Listen, Lora needs only a little, I need a lot. I didn't have any money…" _

_"You should've just said so! Do you really think I'm such a bastard that I wouldn't gave it to you?" Harry asked. "After you helped the woman I love?!"_

_"My heart can explode at any time," Tom notified._

_"There's no such thing!" Peter interrupted._

_"There is when you're trying to experiment on yourself to find the right cure… this one," Tom pointed the vial, "may kill me or cure me…" and he suddenly drunk it._

_"Wait!" _

_It was too late. He drunk it all! _

_"No!" Peter screamed, but there was nothing he could do anyway._

_Something started happening to Tom, he started changing, then running around the lab, screaming and breaking all the vials._

_"NO!" Harry roared. "Don't! It's Lora's cure!"_

_It was too late again as there was no cure left anymore._

_"TOM!" Harry almost had a break down._

_Tom in front of their eyes changed… into something that resembled a human-lizard._

_Something was dripping from his claws though. Could it be a cure? Harry wondered in feeble hope._

_"Peter… is that what I think it is?" he finally asked. _

_"It looks like it… maybe he's producing it?"_

_"Tom… wait… stand still…" Harry tried to calm him down, but then Tom jumped to him and got out through the door._

_"We have to find him!"_

_Harry and Peter both went after the Lizard but none of them actually caught him._

_Then, it attacked Peter._

_Harry found him on the street and took him to a hospital immediately._

_MJ was there, still sitting by Lora who was still unconscious. _

_"What happened?" she got scared when she saw Peter, so Harry filled her in._

_"The doctor said that Peter will be ok," he calmed her down._

_"It wasn't your fault…" she said on seeing how badly he blamed himself._

_"Yes, it was!"_

_"Harry..."_

_"It's true, MJ! All of these is my fault! I wanted that cure so desperately that when I finally got it, I let Tom destroy it all! He didn't even think about the consequences and now because of me Peter got hurt!"_

_"Tom just wanted to save his life, he was ready for anything and I can understand his actions. Harry…" MJ put a hand on his shoulder," it wasn't your fault, it was nobody's fault. Every single one of us would do the same. You just wanted to save the one person you love. Go to her. Then you'll look for Tom again."_

_Harry walked inside Lora's room and took her hand, then kissed her cheek._

_She was still in a coma. She didn't react and it was so hard for him to see her like this. He was ready for anything to get her back. He had to._


	16. Chapter 16

**Part 16**

_Harry finally found Tom and followed him. It was all that much harder, because he couldn't just kill him. He he needed him alive what made it even harder._

_The opportunity came about an hour later when Lizard went to the canals and fell asleep there._

_Harry came to him and put a net over his head, pulling a knife out of his pocket._

_Tom woke up and started fighting immediately. Harry thought if he would just hurt him with the knife maybe it would help, but in this very moment he saw something human in his eyes and stopped. _

_Then to his surprise, Tom spoke in an urgent voice, "Harry! You have to finish it! You have to finish what I started!" And he bit him. Harry screamed with pain when moving back. He noticed that the creature stopped moving. Was it dead?_

_"Shit!" Harry cursed when falling to his knees. He felt so weak and so much in pain._

_It looked like there was not a chance for Lora to survive. Now, added to that, their daughter would have to be raised by Peter and MJ without her parents. _

_At this very moment, Harry was sure he was dying. He was sure he failed everyone he loved. That he was, after all, not good at all. He'd only destroyed the life of the one woman he loved. He deserved to suffer for that._

_Then something strange happened. The pain and dizziness stopped altogether and Harry noticed in shock that some kind of a gland appeared on his wrist. When he squeezed the almost unseen button – something flowed out, some liquid. _

_It was the cure! He realized and nearly started crying from both relief and happiness. It wasn't too late. He could still have his family intact. He could still save the woman he loved!_

_He flew straight to the hospital, suddenly understanding Tom's words: _You have to finish what I started.

_Tom wanted to be like exactly like Harry was right now, but he hadn't succeeded. Then he'd bitten him and this substance had gotten into Harry's body. He'd created a human host for the cure._

_Harry burst inside his wife's room._

_"Harry!" MJ yelled to him. "Do you have the cure?" she asked him._

_"I am the cure!" he just screamed._

_"What?" she came closer, thinking he'd gotten crazy._

_Harry stood by Lora and started wondering whether he should inject the cure into a vein or put it into her mouth._

_He finally picked up a syringe and filled it with the liquid from his wrist._

_"What the…" MJ whispered watching him. "How?"she gasped in disbelief._

_"Later," he just said and injected the cure into Lora's drip._

_Then he sat down by her bed… just waiting…_

* * *

I opened my eyes and noticed that I was lying in a hospital bed while Harry was sitting right beside me, holding my hand.

"Harry?" my voice was hoarse.

"Yes, honey?" he smiled in response.

"Am I dying?" I asked squeezing his hand.

"No. Just the opposite. You are alive. And you will be for a very long time now," he answered.

"But… I don't understand…" I said, confused.

"I found a cure. That is why I didn't have time for you."

"What are you saying?"

* * *

"…and that is how Mr. Osborn started producing the cure which by now helped hundreds of people all over the world!" The crowd clapped when Harry stepped on the scene.

I was so proud of him. He helped so many people and he would help even more in the future.

"Thank you," Harry said. "In the beginning, I just wanted to say that it's all because of my lovely wife, Lora. If it hadn't been for her heart condition, I would've never invented this cure with Tom Mallory, Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. They're all here today with us, expect Tom who unfortunately, passed away. We shall not forget his name though as he sacrificed himself for the cause…" he continued his speech.

**THE END**


End file.
